inspire-indiana Chapter 403 If Only I Had Known This Before
Chapter 403 If Only I Had Known This Before
There was another long silence.
Is fate playing tricks on us?!
Or was it due to uncontrollable external forces?!
But in any case, if Yang Liuming had not intended to kill Zhao Xiaoman, the tragedy would not have occurred.
The truth has only come to light now.
First, there were bandits from Jigong Mountain, led by Li Xing'er's father, Li Dali, who set up a roadblock at the exit of the Tiankeng Canyon in order to avenge Zhao Xiaoman for accidentally killing her son, forcing the delegation to stop advancing.
Under Tian Shang's instructions, the Vietnamese army secretly massacred members of the border garrison in Guze Town, impersonated them, and pretended to assassinate the delegation, intending to frame former Crown Prince Tian Yuan.
Only Yang Liuming's Flame Army was serious and wanted Zhao Xiaoman dead with real swords and spears!
The Flame Army was unaware of the Vietnamese army's plot, which is why a fierce three-way battle broke out at the scene of the crime, involving the delegation's guards and resulting in heavy casualties!
If the Flame Army hadn't appeared, the Vietnamese assassination squad would have just made a show of it, leaving behind their identification tags before quickly retreating. Perhaps none of the delegation's guards would have been injured!
In the end, apart from Gu Zhanghua, who was unconscious and had already been taken away for treatment by the then prefect of Fucheng, there was no one left alive in Yang Liuming's final work!
"Is there anything else you want to say? If not, will you come with me to the palace immediately to see the Emperor, or should I ask the Emperor for permission to send someone to arrest you?"
Even with Gu Zhanghua's good nature and gentle demeanor, at this moment, he couldn't help but glare sharply at Yang Liuming.
"Wait, I have something important to tell Zhao Xuan."
Yang Liuming had already composed himself and looked up at Zhao Xuan.
"Back then, in order to maintain and develop the Flame Army, I even colluded with those merchants who were struggling to conduct business at the time to secretly engage in smuggling with the Yue Kingdom."
"What?! You were involved in the smuggling back then?"
Although more than ten years have passed, Zhao Xuan still vaguely remembers that her grandfather was so worried about thoroughly investigating smuggling that he almost turned his hair white. He had discussed with his master more than once that the most thorough way to eradicate smuggling was to lift the isolation and open up trade.
"Just involved in smuggling? Did you do something even worse to my grandfather?"
Zhao Xuan demanded an explanation in a stern voice.
In Zhao Xuan's eyes, Yang Liuming is no longer the strict and storytelling teacher he once was, but has transformed into a hideous demon.
Since Yang Liuming mentioned smuggling to her, it couldn't be that simple; there must be some ulterior motive behind it!
Sure enough, Yang Liuming said in a deep voice:
"Your grandfather, Zhao Cheng, was the Minister of Personnel at the time. He ordered a thorough investigation into smuggling, which made the merchants very anxious. Just then, the mission was attacked, and Liyang was thrown into chaos..."
I then ordered those merchants to secretly place smuggled goods into shops that did business with the Ministry of Revenue during the chaos, creating conclusive evidence that your grandfather was abusing his power for personal gain and participating in smuggling. Jiang Song had no choice but to ask Qin Shao for help in besieging the Zhao residence..."
Zhao Xuan suddenly felt a splitting headache and fainted unexpectedly. Her mind was buzzing, and she could no longer hear what Yang Liuming was saying.
But she already knew her grandfather's fate back then. Because the Zhao family mansion was besieged, Qin Shao, who had been a close friend of her grandfather despite their age difference, was involved, and her grandfather was falsely accused of being the mastermind behind the smuggling.
In utter despair, Grandpa had no choice but to prove his innocence with his death!
At that moment, Huang Shuo was holding her as they squeezed through the crowd. She saw her grandfather lying in a pool of blood, and then she saw her familiar cousin Zhao You. Overwhelmed with grief, she also committed suicide beside her grandfather...
It turns out that Yang Liuming was the culprit behind all of this!
The death of my master, the death of my grandmaster, the death of my grandfather, the death of my uncle…
All her relatives in this world lost their lives because of Yang Liuming's selfish desires!
She wanted to kill Yang Liuming with her own hands right now to avenge all her relatives!
But she couldn't...
"Sister Xuan! Sister Xuan!"
In her dazed state, Zhao Xuan seemed to hear Gu Zhanghua calling out. She looked towards Gu Zhanghua in the direction of the sound and saw his worried face.
She subconsciously looked at her hands and saw Gu Zhanghua forcefully prying open her tightly clenched fist.
Her fingernails had dug deep into her palm, and bright red blood was flowing out, but she felt no pain at all.
"Does it hurt?"
Gu Zhanghua took out a handkerchief to wrap Zhao Xuan's hand and asked with heartache.
Zhao Xuan shook her head, her consciousness returning. She desperately suppressed the urge to kill Yang Liuming with a single blow and gave him a cold smile.
"Since you're willing to confess this matter, you must feel guilty about my grandfather's death. So now I'm asking you for a list! A list of businessmen who participated in framing my grandfather back then!"
Yang Liuming wore a bitter smile, his face filled with immense conflict. After a moment, he finally spoke:
"I'm sorry, I can't give you this list, and I won't even tell you who they are. I'll take all the blame myself!"
"What do you mean by that? Shouldn't they bear the consequences for the sins they committed?"
Zhao Xuan frowned, completely unexpected that when things came to a head, Yang Liuming confessed to all his crimes but refused to produce such a list.
"Listen to my explanation..."
Yang Liuming seemed to have aged several years in an instant, with deep wrinkles appearing on his face and his voice becoming increasingly hoarse.
"Shortly after the mission tragedy, His Majesty abolished the policy of isolation and opened trade with Yue and Song. Now these merchants are all doing business in a law-abiding manner, maintaining the economic lifeline of Xia Kingdom..."
As for those orphans at the Liyang branch back then, they were all instigated by me. If you have investigated, you will know that in the past ten years or so, they have not done anything wrong. They are just ordinary people living peaceful lives...
Li Chongxi has already died because of me. I don't want anyone else to lose their lives because of my stubbornness back then. Please... spare them!
At this point, Yang Liuming suddenly stood up and knelt down in front of Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua.
Jian Qiu then knelt down beside Yang Liuming, facing Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua.
Zhao Xuan remained silent, then suddenly lifted her leg and walked towards the door, refusing to accept their kneeling.
Gu Zhanghua did not stop Zhao Xuan, but looked at the two people kneeling in front of him with an extremely solemn expression.
"What you just discussed is of great importance! I urge you both to come with me to the palace immediately to see the Emperor, so that he may make the final decision!"
Yang Liuming looked up at Gu Zhanghua, and tears instantly streamed down his face.
"Your Highness, my husband and I are willing to go to the palace with you immediately, but... we only hope that Your Highness can put in a good word for us before His Majesty, so that we can die with dignity... and not let our child Zilan be shamed for the rest of her life because of our sins!"
"Your Highness!" Jian Qiu cried and pleaded, "Zilan knows nothing! All the evil deeds were committed by my husband and me! Please, Your Highness, for the sake of Zilan being our classmate, spare Zilan some dignity!"
"If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?! If you really cared about Zilan, how could you have disregarded everything and done so many heinous things?"
Gu Zhanghua couldn't help but shout at him sternly!
But deep down, Yang Zilan still held onto a sliver of hope!
Despite having such parents, Yang Zilan didn't turn out badly!
What a stroke of luck amidst misfortune!